Big things come in low prints

Hey, CHU, it’s DrunkWooky. Back from the depths of despair which is bar exam preparation and back to what really matters…comics!

If you’re a CHU reader, you probably have heard some contributors talk about low print runs. We care because, obviously, if something heats up and has a print run in the low thousands, that can mean huge value increases. Most of the time this is an advanced prediction. Notwithstanding retailer exclusives where tiny print runs are part of the advertised allure of collectability, we usually don’t know actual numbers until after the fact.

Well, hot from Comichron, here are July’s print run numbers. These estimates give a feel for where your recent purchases stack in the scheme of all of last month’s releases.

This morning I went through the lower end of this list and here are some thoughts:

#14: We Stand on Guard #1. The agreed upon estimate for the Saga #1 print run was 37,000. We Stand on Guard #1 stands at almost double that figure. Can it still heat up into Saga #1 values? Maybe. We are dealing with a much healthier comic market. There are a lot more readers out there. I’m speculating with two extra copies each for the first arc (maybe only arc).

#52: Groot #2 had a print run in the 39,000 range. This is a bit surprising given Groot’s popularity after his cinematic debut. This is also Groot’s first ongoing series. However, it isn’t so surprising given it’s time of release—right around Secret Wars. Once Secret Wars cools off, people might be looking to back track and pick these up.

## 94 & 95: Korvac Saga #2 and Weirdworld #2 had print runs around 26,000. This is a little low given the buzz surrounding these two Secret Wars tie-ins. Weirdworld, in particular, is a beautiful book filled with vivid eye-popping art by Michael Del Mundo. Jason Aaron is exploring all of Marvel’s more obscure properties from over the decades in this book that lives up to its namesake. Again, these two books may be the overlooked gems of the Secret Wars tie-ins. I’m speculating lightly buying an extra copy with my normal pulls.

# 96: Descender #5 is in a similar boat as Weirdworld. Beautiful Dustin Nguyen watercolor interiors and a movie option floating around. Those that are reading Descender are saying good things and #6 is supposed to drop some bombshells this week (August 12).

#110: Ant-Man Annual. I would have thought that a self-contained one-shot of a Marvel film property—not to mention a major box office smash—would have grabbed more prints (around 24,000). This is the reveal of the new Giant Man, also. A lot of people gave it a miss. We’ll see if Giant Man has a resurgence of popularity.

#202: Star Wars #1 (Misprinted Double-Cover Sixth Printing). Ok. Star Wars #1 has over saturated the market at this point. After the apocalypse, when aliens investigate earth, they will find twinkies, cockroaches, Mick Jagger, and a pile of a couple hundred thousand copies of Star Wars #1. That being said, this print is an odd little duck that people seem to be seeking out. Only 10,000 printed? Not bad for a nice little novelty.

#282: 21st Century Tank Girl #2. Issue 1 is already heating up selling anywhere from $14.99 to $19.99. It looks like we’re seeing a print run of around 6,000 for #2. This is a niche fanbase and they are going to be looking for these in the future.

#286: Dead Drop #3 dead-dropped well below Valiant’s usual numbers. People are still seeking out this series on the secondary market.

That’s it for now.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments. I hope to do a monthly speculation analysis on the print run numbers. Comments and suggestions would be awesome!